Why You Need to Do a Home Inspection

As a realtor, I recommend a home inspection for every home, even new ones. Clients ask me all the time if it is worth getting a home inspection and I give them the same wise words I heard as a kid: better to spend a little bit of money to make sure you do not spend a lot later.

There are five main aspects in a home that could turn into a financial disaster if an inspection is not done:

Foundation;

HVAC and Vents;

Electrical;

Plumbing; and

Roofing.

For example, let’s say that a home was built in the 1950s and has a concrete foundation. Concrete is great but not invincible. For instance, in Los Angeles the soil does not absorb water very well and if the property does not have a good drainage system the water could just sit around the house eroding the foundation for decades.

That is an expensive problem for a buyer to deal with and is terrible if that said buyer goes to sell the house in the future. A home inspection could catch that and save you the headache or allow you to get a credit big enough to fix it.

After 10 years of doing real estate, I would like to say I have seen it all but every once in while a home inspection can surprise me. But there’s a benefit to it since I can then use that inspection to negotiate repairs or get credit at closing or both.

A good home inspector, like the ones we work with, will tell you what you should be worried about, not that you should worry about everything. The reason being is that not every small scratch on the wall or little bump on the floor needs tending to.

But if any of the main five above are an issue then you can be very sure that it is not going to be a good day for either side until it gets resolved or you get out of the contract and find another house.

Ramsey Judah is a broker with The Judah Group and can be reached at ramsey@TheJudahGroup.com or @RamseyJudah on Twitter and Instagram.